Sometimes, just receiving a diagnosis can be enough to help someone start to feel better. This phenomenon has been noticed by patients and clinicians, but until now it didn’t have a name. Now, thanks to a pair of US-based researchers writing in a recent paper, it’s been dubbed the “Rumpelstiltskin effect”. In case you’re unfamiliar […]
In 1962, A Boy Found A Radioactive Capsule And Brought It Inside His House — With Tragic Results
Over 60 years ago, a family in Mexico began to fall mysteriously ill. Fevers, fatigue, and strange symptoms swept through the household, but no one could explain why. The cause wasn’t in the water, nor in the food. It was a small metal capsule containing cobalt-60, a radioactive material, that had been sitting quietly in […]
This Cute Creature Has One Of The Largest Genomes Of Any Mammal, With 114 Chromosomes
Small, scarce, and shy, the white-bellied pangolin has one of the highest number of chromosomes among all mammals: a total of 114 chromosomes. However, this is just the beginning of these animals’ bizarre genetic quirks. Pangolins are a family of small, scale-covered mammals that includes eight species, four of which live in Asia and four […]
Little Air And Dramatic Evolutionary Changes Await Future Humans On Mars
Many people expect that the future of humanity will involve Mars. The Red Planet is close enough and not immediately deadly like Venus. That makes it a good enough candidate for future human exploration, and maybe even settling the place. But good enough doesn’t make it good. Unlike Milton’s Lucifer, we can not make a […]
“Black Hole Stars” Might Solve Unexplained JWST Discovery
From the early days of JWST’s scientific observations of the distant universe, scientists started noticing a population of curious objects. They are very red, extremely compact, and there are a lot of them. They were nicknamed “Little Red Dots,” and they are so distant that their light had to travel for at least 12 billion […]
Pretty In Purple: Why Do Some Otters Have Purple Teeth And Bones? It’s All Down To Their Spiky Diets
Sea otters are surprising creatures. They’re athletic, intelligent, and actually incredibly scandalous with disturbingly precise diets (don’t be fooled by all that fluffy hand holding). Another surprise they’ve been keeping from you? Sometimes their bones and teeth are purple. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access […]
The World’s Largest Carnivoran Is A 3,600-Kilogram Giant That Weighs More Than Your Car
Who’s the true king of the carnivorans? Lions, tigers, or bears, perhaps? Turns out there’s something else the Tin Man should’ve been afraid of – well, at least if The Wizard of Oz took place a little closer to the sea. This fearsome animal? The southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), also known as the largest […]
Devastating “Rogue Waves” Finally Have An Explanation
For hundreds of years, sailors have reported freak, gigantic waves hundreds of feet high, and seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Hundreds of leagues from land, or any other witnesses, they would swallow up ships whole, only rarely leaving a survivor or two to tell the tale. But, well, sailors have said a lot of stuff […]
Meet The “Masked Seducer”, A Unique Bat With A Never-Before-Seen Courtship Display
When Professor Bernal Rodríguez-Herrera at the University of Costa Rica received a phone call about some ugly bats in San Ramon, Costa Rica, he didn’t think much of it. “Most people think all bats are ugly, so I didn’t take the report very seriously at first,” he said. As it happened, what they had spotted […]
Alaska’s Salmon River Is Turning Orange – And It’s A Stark Warning
The Salmon River in Alaska winds for many kilometers through wild forest, tundra, and stunning mountain valleys. Once containing the purest water, sustaining fish and other wildlife, it’s now cloudy and orange from climate change and the thawing of permafrost. This change not only alters the landscape, but it’s also unleashing toxicity that threatens ecosystems, […]
Meet The Heaviest Jelly In The Seas, Weighing Over Twice As Much As A Grand Piano
We often think of heavy animals as fairly solid; the blue whale, African elephants, and rhinos all seem fairly substantial because of their sheer volume. However, there is one creature that swims in Earth’s oceans that has its own heavy title, and yet is mainly made up of soft, squishy parts. Meet the lion’s mane […]
For The First Time, We’ve Found Evidence Climate Change Is Attracting Invasive Species To Canadian Arctic
An intruder has been detected in the Canadian Arctic for the first time, and it’s not good news for the health of our planet. The bay barnacle is a known invasive species that’s been making its unwelcome mark on European waters and the Pacific ocean, disrupting ecosystems as it spreads. There was a time we […]
What Are Microfiber Cloths, And How Do They Clean So Well?
Sometimes when you’re a professional, the tools used by regular folks just won’t do. Formula One racers have those games console-looking steering wheels; award-winning photographers depend on more than the lens on their smartphone; and housekeepers, maids, cleaners, janitors, and other professional tidier-uppers use microfiber cloths. But what actually are these special towels, and why […]
Stowaway Rat That Hopped On A Flight From Miami Was A “Wake-Up Call” For Global Health
This is the story of a stowaway rat, who hopped on a transatlantic flight, caused mass panic, had its travel plans rudely interrupted by a one-way trip to a scientific facility, and is now teaching the world a whole lot about global disease transmission. Sit back, relax, and let us tell you a tale. In […]
Andromeda, Solar Storms, And A 1 Billion Pixel Image Crowned Best Astrophotos Of The Year
Every year, for the last 17 years, the Royal Observatory of Greenwich has awarded the ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year, and we are stunned by the sheer amount of photographic talent and celestial beauty that can be combined in this selection of images. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign […]
New Island Emerges In Alaska As Glacier Rapidly Retreats, NASA Satellite Imagery Shows
Global warming is a tricksy beast. In some places, it’s transforming once-lush environments into barren deserts; in others, it’s doing essentially the opposite – albeit through an irony-fueled, monkey’s paw kind of interpretation of “re-green the Earth’s deserts”. Now, a new set of photos from NASA has laid bare a striking example of the latter […]
With A New Drug Cocktail, Scientists May Have Finally Found Flu’s Universal Weak Spot
Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) may have just cracked one of medicine’s biggest challenges: how to stop influenza in its tracks, no matter the strain. A carefully designed triple antibody cocktail protected mice from nearly every flu strain tested, including highly dangerous avian and swine variants. Current approved flu drugs target viral enzymes. Sounds good, […]
Battered Skull Confirms Roman Amphitheaters Were Beastly For Bears
Analysis of a bear skull found at a Roman amphitheater east of Belgrade reveals that while the bear was brown, its fate was grizzly, probably dying from an infected wound. In the process, it provides the first direct confirmation of widespread accounts that bears and gladiators fought to the death for the Romans’ entertainment. The […]
Mine Spiders Bigger Than A Burger Patty Lurk Deep In Abandoned Caves
Mine spiders have seen a surge in popularity recently as many are realizing for the first time that some of the planet’s most impressive arachnids live their whole lives in dark and remote places. While there isn’t just one genus of cave-dwelling arachnids, there’s a host of impressive spiders to be found in caves and […]
Blackout Zones: The Places On Earth Where Magnetic Compasses Don’t Work
Compasses were the trusted companions of sailors, explorers, and travelers for centuries, offering a simple way to find north. A small magnetized needle is set on a tiny pivot, allowing it to move and align itself with the invisible force of Earth’s magnetic field. But this simple tool has a major flaw. In certain places […]